Whenever I get my new house done
Sail away ladies sail away
I'll give the old one to my son
Sail away ladies sail away
-Sail Away Ladies (trad./Uncle Dave Macon???)
In a period of less that 24 hours, I managed to play and/or hear this song no less than 4 times. I caught the tail-end of Allegheny Echoes, a week-long old-time music workshop in Edray, West Virginia, where I truly became indoctrinated in old time music. This year, because of work and ill-timed tonsil trouble, I didn't make it to any classes, concerts, or jams until the last day of the week (and arguably the best - the instructor concert on Friday night is always a showcase of so many fine musicians from WV and a couple other states). So of course, I had to make my one night of Echoes make up for all of the time I've spent sitting on the couch reading Lonesome Dove and trying not to swallow and irritate my massive tonsils (ew ew ew, I know).
But before I get into more about Allegheny Echoes, I'd like to step back and comment on the first verse of "Sail Away Ladies." Now if the song were about something like reproductive rights or body hair, I would go into some kind of rant about how it's messed up that he's giving the house to his son instead of his daughter, or his child blah blah blah. But it's not, and this verse to me reflects one of the simplest, most beautiful sentiments: the desire to make a good life for your children. In my brief time at Echoes and the Little Levels Heritage Festival this year, this verse really hit home with me. To me it's a reflection of the generosity and family-like atmosphere (or cultish, depending if you're on the outside or inside) that forms organically around a musical community.
And that's exactly what Allegheny Echoes is like for me. After a year of being away from Echoes, coming back was like coming home. I felt like I'd been gone for ever, but at the same time, it was as if only a day and not 2 years had past since I'd seen the people there.
What followed, were two jams, one haunting, mesmerizing, beautiful, and comfortable like a homemade quilt on your favorite bed, with the members of this "family" that I am closest to, the second fiery and wild, with musicians that I feel privileged to play among. The first jam contained some of my favorite people to play music with on the planet. We know each others' styles, and have so many shared memories that an outsider would probably think we were insane if they joined in with us (they would probably be right).
The second jam happened when I caught my second wind around 2:30 am. After threatening to go to bed, and making motions in that direction before taking one final walk around the Marlinton Motor Inn, I ran into a high-energy jam containing some of the finest, wildest WV old time musicians under the age of 65. I hopped right in and kept up with this crew until around 5 am (At this point, I'd like to add that due to a combination of mono, responsibility, and my inner grandma, I haven't stayed up this late since I was a freshman in college). Never again will that same combination of musicians play together in the same way at the same time, and I'm thrilled to say that I was among them. I'm utterly failing at describing in words the very different, but very amazing feelings that were occurring at both of these jams. But I will leave you with this. Whenever I hear old time music being played with the same kind of passion and energy that I hear it being played at Allegheny Echoes, I know what I care about most in life, where I feel the happiest and most loved. And while the feeling I get from playing music is nowhere near as intense anywhere else as it is at a place like Allegheny Echoes or Clifftop, I know that the lack of a familiar old time community is the biggest sacrifice I make by living anywhere else.
